


Raft

by arbitraryallegory



Series: Dissemble [3]
Category: BIRDMEN - 田辺イエロウ | Tanabe Yellow
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-29
Updated: 2016-12-29
Packaged: 2018-09-13 02:15:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,037
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9101869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arbitraryallegory/pseuds/arbitraryallegory
Summary: It's Mikisada's turn to be the strong one.





	

Mikisada would do almost anything for his friends. He was just that kind of person. It wasn’t because he was stupid or easily manipulated—although he was—but because he honestly believed that friends should help each other whenever they could.

But among all the friends he’d had so far Ei-chan was special. For Ei-chan, Mikisada would move mountains, tear open the sky, even battle the gods themselves. All he had to do was ask.

The fact that he never did was only one of the reason Mikisada loved him so much.

Oh, there were easy things, like skipping class every now and then, but honestly Mikisada was just as happy to not be at his desk all day. And Ei-chan always helped him study for tests, so it wasn’t even a favor so much as a perfectly even trade; Mikisada’s time now for Ei-chan’s later.

Ei-chan never asked him to beat anyone up, or intimidate anyone, or even protect him. All he seemed to want was companionship now and then, and of all the things Mikisada could give, that one didn’t even require a sacrifice.

He knew what people thought about them—about him. That he was some kind of lackey or minion. Big and dumb and too simple to know when he was being taken advantage of. He sometimes got the feeling that even Sagisawa and Tsubame-chan pitied him. It didn’t matter though—they were silly and wrong about all of it, but not worth getting angry about on his own behalf.

What it said about how they saw Ei-chan was a different matter.

He didn’t know what he could say to get them to see his friend the way he did. Ei-chan was sharp and cynical and could be mean—but he was also really funny and he always seemed to know exactly how to make Mikisada feel better when he got too caught up in his own head.

It was killing him that now that it was his turn, Mikisada was unable to return that kindness.

It seemed that even if he had the will, he didn’t quite know the way. Mikisada wasn’t good with words like Ei-chan or Sagisawa, and he wasn’t a naturally comforting presence like Tsubame-chan. Which left him in a hellish sort of limbo, watching his very best friend suffer, but unable to do anything about it.

Ei-chan was going through something, and his lumbering, ungainly attempts at cheering him up could barely touch whatever it was. He was becoming frantic as the days passed and Ei-chan seemed to wilt before his eyes.

Mikisada did not react well to panic.

“What are you doing?”

Whoops—caught. He’d thought he’d have some time after the blackout, but he should have known. Ei-chan was always on the lookout.

“Er, nothing?” He tried out his most innocent smile.

Ei-chan grimaced. “Ugh, put that away. You’re gonna make someone cry.”

He sounded normal, but he still looked awful and tired. It hadn’t worked then. Damn.

He’d thought if he concentrated, he might be able to reverse the effects of Life-stealer. Give Ei-chan an energy boost rather than taking from him. But when he took energy he felt it right away, and Ei-chan still looked just the same.

Ei-chan eyed him. “I’m okay,” he said abruptly. “I know you think that—” a deep breath and a sharp hand motion cut off the thought, and he continued from some mysterious other point. Ei-chan was hard to understand sometimes. “But you don’t have to worry. I’m really okay.”

The fact that he was saying anything at all was proof enough that he wasn’t, but Mikisada had learned a long time ago that trying to argue with Ei-chan would just confuse him into losing his train of thought. He’d come out of many debates tricked somehow into agreement, even if he didn’t agree at all.

Best to just ignore it then.

“I’m sorry about this,” he sighed regretfully.

Ei-chan didn’t like to be touched. It was one of the very first things Mikisada had learned about him when he’d first decided they were going to be friends. He’d gone to slap the other boy on the back, and he’d flinched away as though he was going to be hit; which he was, but it wouldn’t have hurt! It had been hard to get used to. All the unconscious touching little boys did—roughhousing, playing, even just talking—was absent around Ei-chan.

And so Mikisada was prepared for the struggle when he wrapped his arms around Ei-chan and pulled him close. He took the hits in stride, avoided the claws of the armor when he could, and waited it out.

Something inside him soothed immediately. He felt less panicked and more confident that this had been the right thing to do. He’d been fighting the instinct for a while, but he should have known better—his instincts were usually right. And sure enough, sooner than Mikisada could have hoped for, the body in his arms went limp. Slowly, so slowly he thought he was imagining it at first, Ei-chan’s arms came around him. Fingers curled into the armor at his back, and Mikisada murmured wordless nonsense while Ei-chan _shook_.

“You’re not okay,” he said, as gently as he possibly could, rubbing circles on Ei-chan’s back. “Even I know that.”

Ei-chan hunched his shoulders and didn’t respond, and that was fine.

 **You’re smarter than you give yourself credit for,** he heard in his head.

**Sometimes I think you’re NOT as smart as you give yourself credit for. We all want to help, you know.**

Ei-chan turned his face to the side and sighed deeply. “There are some things that just can’t be helped. But…thanks. Will you please let go of me now?”

Mikisada did, and waited patiently while Ei-chan collected himself. He looked over his shoulder and a sly smile curved his lips. He looked a little better, Mikisada thought with satisfaction, preening a little.

“Last one back to the sky terrace is a rotten egg!” Ei-chan said suddenly, and shot from the ground with a burst of speed.

What could Mikisada do but squawk and follow? He’d been doing it for so long it was second nature.


End file.
